While away on holiday, my fish-sitter discovered that my male Goldfish (Ryukin Juvie, 2" long) had attempted to consume my Otto, likely because she forgot to feed them for a few days. Normally they leave each other alone, but I think because they were hungry, the Goldfish attempted to eat the Otto. She's usually too fast for the poor guy, but due to lack of supplement, I think she was a bit slow. So, consequently, the little Otto got stuck in the Ryukin's mouth, and neither could swim nor breathe. In panic, the sitter had pulled the Otto straight out of the Ryukin's mouth, saving both lives, but unfortunately tore off the upper and part of the lower lip. He's made it through the night, and he's still in shock.

I don't have params, but my siggy has the info. There is a 2mm long hair algae infestation going on, but even a week long blackout never killed it, and there are no stress symptoms otherwise. My snails are booming, so since they're not dying off, I assume the params are fine. I did a 50% water change before I left, and 5 days before that. I have been half-dosing flourish for the plants, because a full dose makes the algae worse. I don't have immediate (within the next 2 weeks) access to anything like melafix or other meds, though I DO have frozen veg food with garlic.

Will the wound heal?
Will he have to re-learn how to eat?
Should I change food away from a flake?

I don't have the heart to cull him. He is my favorite fish, and was my husband's first ever goldfish.

kitten_penang

05-22-2012 10:31 PM

get a freshwater kit then make sure the water stays as clean as possible so it doesnt get a secondary infection.do not add melafix put in the required dosage of interpet internal bacteria.it will not harm plants and is colorless and odorless.pls mix it properly before use. the wound will heal quite fast and the fish will slowly begin to eat. no worries fishes can go without food for days up to a week in some species.for the algae stop dosing the ferts for the time being i think there's way too much nutrients in there already as goldfish creates a heavy bio load.

Olympia

05-22-2012 10:50 PM

I think he should be fine with care. Goldies are eating machines. Honestly he probably doesn't realize he's hurt, fish nervous systems don't pick up pain very much, which is why a physically hurt fish acts completely fine. If there's bone/cartilage that was removed it won't grow back, but flesh will cover it up properly.
I would feed the garlic food, it is a great healer. If you're willing to keep the water super clean he won't need any medicine.
If you can you should switch to a sinking pellet, flakes aren't great for goldfish in general because it makes them gulp air from the surface, which can cause bloating problems. A nice round sinking pellet would probably be easier for him to eat too.Posted via Mobile Device

thekoimaiden

05-24-2012 01:13 PM

Sorry I arrived here rather late. Olympia and Kitten_Pentang have given you some advice. Keep the water pristine and he should be fine. I have a koi with a deformed mouth who has been living a healthy life for 6 years now. Depending on how well your ryukin can eat food once it is all healed you might need to start hand-feeding him. I would most certainly change his food to sinking pellets. Ryukin are notorious for having bloat issues and high-quality sinking pellets or gel food are great ways to prevent this.

This is also a good place to put a caution out there. Goldfish should never be housed with anything small enough to fit in their mouths. They will try to eat it, and it has the potential to get stuck (as you have seen). The molly also falls into this category. To prevent future incidents like this I would remove the goldfish to a larger tank for reasons stated below.

But I have noticed some problems with your 15 gal. I know you have amazing filtration on it, but that isn't going to make up for the fact that the shunbunkin will eventually grow to around 12 inches. It's simply not enough space for those two fish. The shubunkin will need a 4 foot or longer tank (but ideally an outdoor pond) as they are very active fish. Depending on how large your ryukin grows, he could potentially stay in that tank, but goldfish are social creatures and like goldfish company. And that tank doesn't have the swimming room to house another goldfish long-term.

jaysee

05-24-2012 02:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kitten_penang
(Post 1092141)

. no worries fishes can go without food for days up to a week in some species.

fish (except for fry and sick) can survive for many weeks without food. 2 weeks is the longest I have left them for. Because fish are cold blooded and don't generate heat, they do not need as high of a caloric intake. We can survive for 3 weeks without food - I'm sure the fish can last longer.

yup but it's not really advisable to do so unless it's a healthy fish and you're trying to ween them of a certain food that's not good for them.i for one will not starve my fish for any other reason then the above.